Refrigerant cooler



July 30, 1935.

` FouRNEss Y #REFRIGERANT vCOOLER vFiled June 2o, 1952 HV rL-u i 74 2f E Comp/Eifer' Il. V/o f m 7 V www* W' f2 a /wctxs BY Z512# ATTORNEY Patented July 30, 1935 l aarnroaaanrcoonaa- 'WiliredlFonrnesa Oakland, califgassignor, by mesneassignments, to Edward 'Burghard,

New York, N. Y.

' 4 n applicaties .nine zo, lesarsveal No. 618,158

` `SClaims. (Cl. 257-36) l This invention relates to refrigeratiom'and more yparticularly to a system in which a liquidrefrigcraint, such as sulfur dioxide, ispennitted-to evaporate for absorbing heat, and thenis/la-ter 5 compressed and condensed.

In suchr systems, the compressoracts vto increase the pressure of the'v'aporous or gaseous re- Irigerant after it leavesv the vexpansion space (such as the usual expansion coils)- ;and the compressed .110l medium is then condensed. ,n 'I'hecompression of n thev gaseous, medium verymaterially raises its temperature,` and this in4 turn may materially interfere with the condensation into a liquid. In i iact,l the vgas from thefcompressor may be in a l5k superheated condition,;es'pecallyin hot weather. It--is one of thevobjects, oi the invention to cool the compressed gas beforeit reaches the. condenser, thereby raising the eiliciency of'the'compressor mechanisin ..V This object is `attained by the provision of cooler y of simple and inexpensive construction; and it is another object of the invention to provide a cooler 'having these` characteristics. l n

The cooler, in accordancewith this invention,

mersed'in acooling liquid, and carrying the compressed gases. The cooling liquid, which is most conveniently water, is in a container that permits moisture to exude to the exterior surface, such as a fabric or ilax bag or other porous bag.

It is the evaporation of this exuded water from the exterior surface which keeps the temperature of the cooling liquid at a value low enough to enable considerable heat exchange between the com- 35 pressed gas and the liquid. In hot, dry weather evaporation of the cooling liquid is then accelerated.

This process can be still further intensified, as by the aid of a fan blowing a current of air against the bags. Furthermore, the process of evaporation can be applied in other ways to effect the same results.

My invention possesses many other advantages,

.and has other objects which may be made more easily apparent from a consideration of one embodiment of my invention. For this purpose I have shown a. form in the drawing accompanying and forming part of the present speciilcation. I shall now proceed to describe this form in detail, which illustrates the general principles of my invention; but it is to be understood that this detailed description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, since the scope oi' my invention is best denned by the appended claims.

is formed of a ybranched conduit or pipe, im-` this method oi' cooling is especially eilective, asv

`rlte'ferriiig.to the drawing: VVFigurewl'is an isometricview oiy a cooling device, with its cover removed, and with the other ele- ,ments of, tl'iesystem diagrainrnatically indicated;

andk

The compressor I I is lshown as fedwith evaporated refrigerant through a connection I2,'from anfexpansionrspace I3. This space may be in` the f/orm'of the usual expansion coils now common in refrigerating systems. The refrigerant is compressed by the compressor II and is heated to a superheatedcondition thereby,v because` of themechanical Work'perfo'rrnedon itt Fromfthe com-A 15 presser,-the-compressed gasis discharged, as'v through'va connection I4, to a "desuperheater I 5, which reducesthejtemperature so that Aall or part oi the superheat is carried away, and'therefore the condensation ofrfthe compressed gas is facili-V tated. In other'words, the vgasis caused to ap .proach the vapor stage.

From thecooling device I5, a" connection I6 carries the cooled Agas or vapor to a condenser'll, where the'gas is'liqueiied in the manner common 25 to thel art, 'and whence itfcanfbe discharged through a control valve I8 to the expansion space I3, as required. This cycle of expansion or evaporation for heat absorption, compression, condensation, and 10e-evaporation is now well understood 30 in connection with refrigerating systems furthery detailed explanation thereof is considered unnecessary.

The cooling device I5 utilizes the principle of the evaporation of a liquid to reduce the temperature of the liquid, said liquid being in heat exchanging relationship with the compressed gas.

To eiiect this result, a metal pan I 9 is provided, shown in this instance as substantially rectangular, and having a' cover 20 which is permanently 40 attached as by soldering. In Fig. 1, this cover is shown as lifted off the pan, in order to better disclose the construction. Inlet conduit I4 and outlet conduit I6 are both shown as leading through reinforced threaded apertures in one side 45 of the pan I9. An inlet header 2| inside pan I9 connects to conduit N'through one aperture4 22, which thus serves as a nipple connection. Near the opposite side of pank I9 is the outlet header 2,3, similarly connectedthrough the other aperture 24 with; the discharge conduit I6.

Connecting the headers 22, 23 is a series of con-` volutions 25, 26, 21, 28, forming parallel conduits between the headers, and extending downwardly through the slots 22 in the bottom oi' the pan I2. 55

i I v 5 Fig. 21S atop'plan `view of thedevice with the -cover removed. 1

equipments for preventing 2 Each individual convolution in this instance is shown'as immersed in aA separate porous Ycontainer, such as 30, 3 I 33, 34, 35. These containers can be conveniently made from fabric that exudes moisture, such as flax bags, and the tops thereof are fastened in any suitable manner to the edges i ofthe slots 29. The containers 30, 3i, etc.l as well as pan i9 can be filled with water or other cooling liquid. This liquid slowly exudes tothe exteriorsurface of the bags, thereby causing a very substantially accelerated evaporation of the water, with attendant cooling. Appropriate filling` and lventing apertures 3B, 31, can' be provided iii govern. This device, as is apparent, requires `,no circulation of cooling liquid. It is economical and simple to operate, and'is particularly applicable to-motor truck refrigerating` systems.- In such systems, themotion of the truck can beutilized to direct a current of air past the surfaces of bags' 80, etc. and through the passages between them. Iii hot, dry weather this is 'sufiicieii't to" produce effectivel cooling;- howeveiif ldesired, afan 38 can be additionally provided or can be used in stationary installations for creating the air current. The cover 2li is especially useful in portable loss of the liquid as by splashing. l

Iclaimz,y l.' In a device forreducing the temperature of gaseous refrigerant after it is discharged fromy a compressor, a conduit for passing the refrigerant 4from the discharge side of the compressor to a condenser, and aporous container vfor the conduit in aliquid. e

2. In a device for reducing the temperature 0f gaseous refrigerant after it is discharged from a compressor, a conduitfor passing the refrigerant from the discharge side'of` the compressor to a immersing condenser, and a'fabric container for immersing the conduit in a liquid.

3. In a device for reducing the temperature of gaseous refrigerant'after it is discharged from a compressor, a conduit for passing the refrigerant from the discharge side of thevcompressor to a condenser, said conduit voluted branches arranged in parallel, as well as an inlet and an outlet header, a porous container for immersing the convolutions in a liquid. and a metal pan to which the container is fastened.

4. -In a device for reducing the 'temperature of gaseous refrigerant after it is discharged from a compressor, a conduit for passing the refrigerant from the discharge side of thecompressor to a condenser, said chduit -having a series of convoluted branches' arranged in parallel, as welllas an inlet andan outlet header, said convolutlons extending .out of the planeof the headers, a series of fabric bags, for immersing the convolutionsin a liquid, and a'metal pan to the bottom of which the bags are attached.

5. In a device-.for reducing the temperature of gaseous refrigerant after it is discharged from a compressor, a conduit for passing the refrigerant from the discharge side of the compressor to a condenser, and a cooling device f or said conduit, comprising a pan for holding a cooling liquid, and av series of porouscontainers leading from the pan and arranged -tc form` one or more passageways for a stream ofgaix'l past the outside wallsof the containers. I f

6. In a device `for reducing the temperature of gaseous refrigerant after it is discharged from' a compressor, a conduit for passing the refrigerant from the discharge side of thecompressor to a condenser, and a coolingdevice for said conduit, comprising a panv for holding a'cooling liquid, and a 'series of porous vcontainers leading -lfrom the pan Vand arrangedto-form one or more passageways for a stream ofair past the outside walls of the containers, said conduit having portionsgextending into the containersNIV for effective heat exchange between the liquid and the conduit.

7. The combination as set which the containers are made from fabric.

8. kThe combination aslset forth in claim 5, in which the pan has a series of slots in the bottom from which the containers depend, said containers being made from porousv fabric.

aving a series of con-` Y forth in claim 5, in 

